Tape holder



Nov. 1*, 1949 KELLEY 2,486,713

TAPE HOLDER Filed March 25, 1947' Patented Nov. 1, 1949 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE TAPE HOLDER Floyd M. Kelley, Jacksonville, Fla.

Application March 25, 1947, Serial No. 736,985

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a novel and improved tape holder which isexpressly, but not necessarily, adapted to hold the free end of a rollof cotton tape.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple, practicaland inexpensive holder of general U-shaped form, the lateral endsserving to position and guide the holder, constituting tracking elementsor shoes, and the intermediate portion constituting a tongueless bucklecharacterized by simple spaced parallel bar members, these fashioned toprovide the desired leverage and friction properties suitable in aholder of the type under consideration.

In carrying out the principles of the invention I have evolved andproduced an aptly suited and appropriately constructed holder which isreadily applicable and removable and which functions to maintain theroll of tape intact and prevent undesirable unreeling of the windings.

It is to be pointed out at this stage that the tape holder underconsideration and to be hereinafter specifically described is alsosatisfactorily usable in expeditating the step of taping armature coils,stator coils, field coils or any type of coil or transformer windings,leads, joints and the like, during the manufacture or repair ofelectrical machinery.

On many types of coils, leads and joints the taping step must be down byhand using the complete roll of tape and passing it around the coils,and in the case of cotton or linen tape, if the roll is dropped it mayroll haphazardly across the floor or other surface and unreel and tangleuntil it comes to a stop against some stationary object. Then, time mustbe taken to re-reel the loose tape or cut it off as is sometimes done,with waste thus promoted. Also, if the user is compelled to stop in themiddle of a taping job, he must have someone else hold the tape until hereturns or else lay it aside, giving the roll a chance to unreel if itis knocked from its resting place. Experience has shown that if theholder of this invention is used on these jobs, the roll of tape may bedropped at any time, remaining intact and keeping the tension of thewindings properly in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide a holder of the type underadvisement which is light in weight, compact, easy to apply and removeand which, when in place, does not materially or noticeably increase theoutside diameter of the roll.

Other objects, features and advantages will 2 become more readilyapparent from the following description and the accompanyingillustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a roll of cotton tape showing aholder, constructed in accordance with this invention, applied theretoand ready for use.

Figure 2 is an enlarged edge elevational view of the holder.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the structure seen in Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale on the line i-4 ofFigure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows and showing the roll oftape in full lines.

In practice, my holder, generally denoted by the numeral 5, isconstructed of appropriate lightweight material of suitable strength,preferably aluminum. As before stated, it is of general U-shaped form asseen in Figure 2, and comprises a central frame portion and a pair oflaterally directed end portions 6, said portions 6 constitutingretaining and guiding members and permitting the device, as a unit, tobe saddled over the peripheral portion of the outer windings of the rollof tape. All three portions which go to make up the essential parts ofthe holder are rectilinearly straight, the end portions 5 being at rightangles to the central or frame portion and substantially parallel to oneanother. The frame is, in effect, a tongueless friction-type buckle andis of general rectangular form and characterized by a pair of spacedparallel end bars 8 whose inner longitudinal surfaces are bevelled, asat 9. The third or intermediate bar It is centrally located between thebars 8 and is V-shaped in cross-sectional form, the bevels being at theapproximate angles shown and disposed in downwardly diverging relationand providing friction and threading surfaces of appropriate angularity.In Figure 1, we see the holder in position for use on the roll of tapeI. Here the outermost winding is denoted by the numeral l3 and the freeend by the numeral M. The second or underlying winding is denoted at l5.Overlapping portions of the windings I3 and I5 are threaded through thebuckle in the manner shown.

To thread the holder, the outer winding or convolution of the roll oftape is passed underneath the right-hand bar 8, over the crest of thecentral bar In and then beneath the remaining lefthand bar 8. The freeend M is then passed or brought completely around the peripheral portionof the roll again and said free end is again passed beneath theright-hand bar 8, over the crest of the bar l0, and beneath theremaining bar 8 thus disposing the two plies of material in overlappingrelatively slidable relation between the respective bars of the buckle.

To reel and unwind the tape, grasp the holder with the thumb andforefinger of the right hand and pull, holding the free end of the tapein the left hand. Reeling may be discontinued by pulling on the roll oftape only. Any desired degree of tension may be applied, up to thebreaking point of the tape, by pulling on the roll of tape only, thisdue to the leverage of the holder on the roll of tape. Frictionincreases as the pull on the roll of tape increases.

Briefly, the holder may be said to be a triple bar buckle whose bars arein the shape and character shown with laterally bent assembling andretaining ends which function as retaining elements and free runningguides.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction withthe invention as illustratedin the drawings will enable the reader toobtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features ofmerit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of theinvention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts maybe resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made fromthe invention as claimed.

I claim:

Number A tape holder for non-sticky tape rolls comprising a U-shapedmember of comparatively thick stock and embodying correspondingly shapedlaterally directed end portions adapted to fit in contact with oppositesides of the tape roll and an intervening intermediate portion thelatter being adapted to extend transversely of the outer windings of theroll and being substantially rectangular and constituting a frame, saidframe having two spaced parallel slots and said slots defining anintermediate bar member and a pair of spaced parallel outer bar members,the intermediate bar member being V-shaped in cross section and thevertex edge thereof being disposed outwardly and defining a ridge overwhich the windings are buckled, the opposed longitudinal edge portionsof said outer bar members being beveled inwardly toward each other andconverging toward each other and also converging toward the coactinginclined surfaces of said V-shaped bar member.

FLOYD M. KELLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Westhead Oct. 26, 1844 Westhead July 28,1868 Straw Dec. 17, 1895 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar.6, 1888 Number

